House debates

Thursday, 25 February 2021

  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Committees (0 speeches)
    • Joint Select Committee on Road Safety; Appointment (1 speech)
      On behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, I move: That: (1) a Joint Select Committee on Road Safety be appointed to inquire into...
    • Public Works Committee; Approval of Work (5 speeches)
      On behalf of the Assistant Minister to the Minister for the Public Service, I move: That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out...
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Committees (0 speeches)
    • Intelligence and Security Joint Committee; Report (1 speech)
      I'm pleased to table the report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in respect of the declared area provisions. Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with...
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Statements by Members (0 speeches)
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (1 speech)
      Even in these strange times, there is one thing we can be absolutely certain of, and that is that Brisbane and South-East Queensland would be the perfect choice to host the 2032 Olympics. Those...
    • Hope Reins (1 speech)
      Charities and not-for-profits which rely on donations were hit as hard as anyone in the wake of the pandemic. They are used to getting by on the smell of an oily rag, but when belts tightened it...
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (1 speech)
      It's a real pleasure to be here with Queensland colleagues to welcome the inspired decision and announcement made overnight by the International Olympic Committee that South-East Queensland is...
    • Endometriosis (1 speech)
      Today the member for Bendigo and I held our first Parliamentary Friends of Endometriosis Awareness event for 2021. We could not be more excited about working with our incredible endo warriors and...
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (1 speech)
      I want to congratulate everyone who lobbied hard so that South-East Queensland would be the preferred candidate for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic bids. We have work to do, but this would be...
    • Lyne Electorate: Infrastructure (1 speech)
      I rise to inform the House of great news for the Dungog shire. Not only has it got $8½ million in the pipeline for the Brig O'Johnson Bridge and $13 million to upgrade Clarence Town Road,...
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (1 speech)
      As co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of the Olympic Movement in Australia, along with the member for Forde, it's wonderful news today to see Brisbane and the region chosen as the preferred...
    • Moore Electorate: Road Infrastructure (1 speech)
      I rise to support the City of Wanneroo in its advocacy for major road infrastructure necessary to unlock the economic development potential of the Neerabup Industrial Area. The local economy of...
    • International Women's Day (1 speech)
      The year 2021 is already shaping up to be a year of female empowerment, and we need to go further. In two months, we've seen strong calls for paid parental leave and for a pink budget in May from...
    • Groom Electorate: COVID-19 (1 speech)
      I want to address the Queensland government's continued unwillingness to provide details of the Premier's COVID camp plan at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport. A month ago, the Queensland Premier first...
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (1 speech)
      Today is an exciting day to be a Queenslander. At 2 am this morning, Queensland time, the International Olympic Committee's Future Host Summer Commission designated Brisbane as the preferred host...
    • Mackellar Electorate: Surfing (1 speech)
      Duke Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian Olympic swimmer and a keen surfer, and it is said he had a smile so wide that it won over the hearts of all Australians when he visited in 1914. Upon his visit, he...
    • COVID-19: Quarantine (1 speech)
      Quarantine is a federal responsibility but, as with so many matters, the Prime Minister is shirking his responsibility. He doesn't hold a hose, mate! And, when it comes to keeping Australians...
    • Swan Electorate: Infrastructure (1 speech)
      I've spoken about the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program before, because it's such a good program. The Morrison government announced it on 22 May 2020. In the 2020-21 budget the...
    • Werriwa Electorate: 66th Blake Prize (1 speech)
      I recently attended the awarding of the 66th Blake Prize, proudly hosted by Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in my electorate. Running since 1951, the Blake Prize, named for William Blake, the...
    • Urannah Dam (1 speech)
      The Urannah Dam will create more than 1,800 jobs and transform the Whitsundays-Bowen-Collinsville region and the Mackay region, but it is under threat from the extreme Greens and their newly...
    • Assange, Mr Julian Paul (1 speech)
      Last month a British court rejected the extradition of Julian Assange to the USA because of concerns about his wellbeing. Notwithstanding the rejection, Julian Assange remains in Belmarsh Prison...
    • Leader of the Opposition (1 speech)
      I want to do something unusual. I want to congratulate the Leader of the Opposition. Like many members, I congratulated Joseph Biden on becoming the President of the United States. Though I think...
    • Crime (1 speech)
      In this country, the average number of vehicles thefts per 100,000 people is about 19, but if you're from Queensland that is number is 52.4. The youth justice system is under stress, and it's not...
    • Employment (2 speeches)
      The message that Labor wants to send manufacturing workers is this: we are on your side, particularly today. We're standing up for 150 workers in Portland, Victoria, who are relying on the...
  • Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
    • Aged Care (4 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. How can Australians trust the Prime Minister to act on the aged-care royal commission when he cut $1.7 billion from aged-care funding; nearly 11,000 people...
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (4 speeches)
      My question goes to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister please update the House on recent positive developments in Queensland's bid for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and how...
    • COVID-19: Vaccination (6 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. In light of events this week in an aged-care facility, what additional steps has the minister taken to ensure that, before people are...
    • Renewable Energy (3 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. In Germany, farmers own 10 per cent of all renewable energy and everyday people own another 30 per cent. If we had a similar system here, billions of dollars...
    • COVID-19: Health Care, COVID-19: Economy (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer inform the House how the Morrison government's success on both health and economic fronts has ensured Australia is as well positioned as any...
    • Workplace Relations (3 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Today I met Hungry Panda delivery rider Jun Yang, who says that he worked 12-hour days earning as little as $12.50 an hour, way below the minimum wage. Mr...
    • COVID-19: Vaccination (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's rollout of safe, effective and free vaccines is underpinning...
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Can the minister confirm that on 12 February his office passed official information about the reported alleged sexual assault of Brittany Higgins...
    • COVID-19: Vaccination (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government is...
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (6 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. How can it be that, according to the Minister for Home Affairs, who was briefed by the AFP on 11 February, information provided by the office of the Minister...
    • COVID-19: Vaccines (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Will the minister please update the House on the work the Morrison government is undertaking to ensure access to the COVID-19 vaccine...
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to his previous answer, where he suggested the involvement of the Minister for Home Affairs and his office had been known for some time. Why is it...
    • Space Industry (2 speeches)
      I'm very pleased to be able to ask the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology to outline to the House how the Morrison government is supporting businesses in growing our science and space...
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. The Minister for Home Affairs has described the alleged sexual assault of Brittany Higgins as a matter of 'he said, she said'. Does the Prime Minister agree...
    • Environment (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for the Environment. How is the Morrison government's comprehensive approach and matching investment in climate adaptation working towards the creation of a more...
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Why did the Prime Minister publicly rebuke the Minister for Defence for not telling him about the reported sexual assault of Brittany Higgins in 2019 but has...
    • Job-ready Graduates Package (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Education and Youth. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's Job-ready Graduates Package is providing an additional 30,000...
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. Isn't it beyond belief that the Prime Minister didn't know about the reported sexual assault of Brittany Higgins when one member of his staff knew two years...
    • Energy (2 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's focus on and commitment to affordable and reliable...
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (4 speeches)
      My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the reported sexual assault of Brittany Higgins. This morning in response to a Senate order the government has confirmed the review by the Prime...
    • Cybersecurity (4 speeches)
      My question is to the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts. Will the minister please update the House on the Morrison government's world-leading work to keep...
  • Questions without Notice: Additional Answers (0 speeches)
  • Questions to the Speaker (0 speeches)
    • Members of Parliament: Staff (2 speeches)
      Speaker, I have questions for you. Just by way of context for those questions for you: on Monday I asked the Prime Minister a question that included references to access to Parliament House, and...
  • Business (0 speeches)
    • Leave of Absence (2 speeches)
      I'm very pleased to move: That leave of absence from the determination of this sitting until 3 August 2021 be given to Ms Chesters for parental leave purposes. There has been a baby boom on this...
  • Documents (0 speeches)
    • Presentation (1 speech)
      A document is tabled in accordance with the list circulated to honourable members earlier today. Full details of the document will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings.
  • Matters of Public Importance (0 speeches)
    • Morrison Government (14 speeches)
      I have received a letter from the honourable Leader of the Opposition proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely: The failure of the...
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Committees (0 speeches)
    • Northern Australia Committee; Membership (1 speech)
      The Speaker has received a message from the Senate informing the House of changes to the membership of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia. As the list is a lengthy one, I do not...
    • Membership (2 speeches)
      The Speaker has received advice from the Chief Opposition Whip nominating members to be members of certain committees.
  • Bills (0 speeches)
  • Adjournment (0 speeches)
    • Collins, Mr Albert Maurice (1 speech)
      Bert Collins was born in 1916, the year after the Anzacs landed at Gallipoli; the year that they arrived on the killing fields of the Western Front; and the same year that the Labor Party tore...
    • COVID-19, News Media and Digital Platforms (1 speech)
      We passed some sombre milestones this week around the world in our experience with COVID-19. In the United States half a million people have now lost their lives because of COVID-19, and in the...
    • Family and Domestic Violence (1 speech)
      Each year, I rise in this parliament to honour the lives of women who have died in the past year through acts of violence, often by someone known to them. Tonight, I stand to honour and pay my...
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (1 speech)
      I'm sure you will agree with this, Mr Speaker. How good is Queensland, and how good is my home city of Brisbane? I rise today, as a proud Queenslander and a proud Brisbane resident, to speak...
    • Aged Care (1 speech)
      This time tomorrow the federal government will hold in their hands the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. This time tomorrow the Morrison government will know...
    • Manufacturing Industry (1 speech)
      In this country we're famous for digging stuff up. We used to dig up gold, then we dug up coal, then iron ore, and now we dig up everything from lithium to dinosaur fossils. Digging up things and...
  • Constituency Statements (0 speeches)
    • National Integrity Commission, Australian National Audit Office (1 speech)
      Since this government was elected, Australia has become more corrupt. It's fallen in global rankings. You don't have to believe it from me; these are independently assessed league tables that...
    • International Women's Day (2 speeches)
      I rise to acknowledge International Women's Day 2021, on 8 March. This year's theme is 'women lead'. When I was a young girl Margaret Thatcher had just become Prime Minister. We could literally...
    • Chau, Mr Van Kham (1 speech)
      'I wish the Australian government would do more for Mr Chau, because it's more like life and death for him. There is no medicine and no emergency services. The water is not clean, the environment...
    • Victoria: Anzac Day (1 speech)
      For the last three decades, with two exceptions, I, like many other members in this place, have attended local Anzac Day services on 25 April. Those two exceptions were when I was representing...
    • Western Australia: Election (1 speech)
      Early voting is now open in Western Australia for the state election on 13 March. We're expecting that due to the ongoing COVID crisis more people than ever will be voting early at polling booths...
    • Ryde Civic Centre (2 speeches)
      I rise today to talk about the passing of a giant in our community—in her heyday a symbol of modernity, an undisputed icon and a familiar face to everyone in Ryde and almost everyone in...
    • Aged Care (1 speech)
      Thirty-eight people died from COVID-19 at the Epping Gardens aged-care home last year. This was a tragedy but, much worse than that, a preventable tragedy. My thoughts today go out to the many...
    • Perkin, Mr Ian (1 speech)
      Every now and then, someone you don't know comes into your life and they come in at the right time and make the right contribution, giving of themselves entirely. The benefit of hindsight, the...
    • Parrott, Mr Charlie, Chin, Mr Ronald 'Ronnie', Bayley, Mr Waldo (1 speech)
      I want to congratulate everyone who was involved with the bombing of Darwin commemoration last week. It was great to have the Minister for Veterans' Affairs come up to Darwin to take part in that...
    • Home Ownership (1 speech)
      Owning your own home is a goal that many Australians, particularly younger Australians, aspire to, but for many the idea that you can save for a deposit for a home while working as an apprentice...
    • HomeBuilder Program (1 speech)
      On the HomeBuilder program, I've had a number of contractors and people involved in the home-building industry reach out to me who are very concerned about the hard deadline that this government...
    • COVID-19: Vaccination (1 speech)
      I'm so pleased that, as I speak, Australia's COVID vaccine rollout is now in full swing. This is the single largest health and logistical effort in our nation's history, and I commend all the...
    • Regional Australia (1 speech)
      The opportunities that come from our experience with drought, bushfire and COVID-19 need to inspire our efforts to recover, renew and rebuild. The challenge now is to build on that and cement...
    • Brisbane Electorate: Infrastructure (1 speech)
      Now, more than ever, it's essential that different levels of government cooperate and work closely together to help drive Australia's economic recovery following the pandemic. So it's been very...
    • Aged Care (1 speech)
      It's my great hope that we see real change in the aged-care sector with the long-awaited release of the report of the royal commission into aged care. The commission's interim report confirmed...
    • Wildlife Trade (1 speech)
      The 3rd of March this year marks World Wildlife Day and it is also the three-year anniversary of a great event, a crushing event, that I attended with Donalea Patman OAM, who is the founder of...
    • Myanmar (1 speech)
      I rise today to add my voice to that of other members in this House across this week to call on this government to revisit our response to the military coup in Myanmar that occurred on 1 February...
    • Gibson Dan AM, Mr Henry (1 speech)
      I rise today to pay tribute to a marvellous, talented and much-loved Far North Queenslander. Former pearl diver, Uncle Henry Gibson, better known as Seaman Dan, passed away peacefully late last...
    • Springwood Community Garden, Macquarie Electorate: Headspace (1 speech)
      Four years ago I visited a patch of paddock on the grounds of St Thomas Aquinas and St Columba's and was told a beautiful garden would emerge. Well, sure enough, Springwood Community Garden has...
    • Mitchell Electorate: Australia Day Awards, Featherstone, Ms Jacqueline Anita (2 speeches)
      It's a pleasure to rise to speak and honour some of the remarkable people in my electorate of Mitchell who were recognised in the recent Australia Day honours list, including Francis Deane OAM,...
  • Adjournment (0 speeches)
    • Australia Post (1 speech)
      Australia Post recently announced, without adequate consultation, that it would end the delivery of perishable goods, abandoning our world-class producers in my home state of Tasmania. The...
    • Queensland: Olympic and Paralympic Games (3 speeches)
      I rise today absolutely thrilled that the $10 million investment that the Morrison government has made in the Olympics bid has pushed South-East Queensland one step further towards hosting the...
    • COVID-19: Vaccination (1 speech)
      Every Australian needs to have full confidence that the coronavirus vaccine rollout is being done safely. It is really that simple. It is completely unacceptable that less than a week into the...
    • Environment (1 speech)
      I've spoken before of opportunity arising from adversity. I learned this week from Landcare, NRM Regions Australia, Australian Land Conservation Alliance and Pew Charitable Trusts that more than...
    • Pensions and Benefits (1 speech)
      On ABC Radio Newcastle recently Dr Anthea Bill, the lead economist at the Hunter Research Foundation, was asked what the impacts of the government's imminent cuts to JobKeeper and JobSeeker would...
    • Abortion (1 speech)
      Last night, I watched and heard the testimony of a midwife who was present at a live birth following an abortion. She was asked to actually photograph the child for the hospital records or the...